I Belong

My guest today is paranormal romance author Thea Harrison. The first book in her Elder Races series, Dragon Bound, was just released yesterday. The second book in the series is Storm’s Heart, which will be released on August 2, 2011. I absolutely loved this book. This stunning series debut has unforgettable characters and an amazing paranormal world. Stay tuned for my review later in the week. Please join me in welcoming Thea here today to Dark Faerie Tales. You can read an excerpt from the book here.

One lucky commenter will have a chance to win a copy of Dragon Bound. As always, details are listed at the end of the post.

Author Bio:

Thea Harrison is the pen name for author Teddy Harrison. Thea has traveled extensively, having lived in England and explored Europe for several years. Now she resides in northern California. She wrote her first book, a romance, when she was nineteen and had sixteen romances published under the name Amanda Carpenter.

She took a break from writing to collect a couple of graduate degrees and a grown child. She experienced waitressing as a teenager, has worked as an activist for a non-profit consumer rights organization, has been a receptionist, an office manager, a penniless graduate student, a director of development and research, and a single mom. Her graduate degrees are in Philanthropic Studies and Library Information Science, but her first love has always been writing fiction. She’s back with her paranormal Elder Races series. The release date for her first paranormal, Dragon Bound, is May 3, 2010.

She adores animals and currently resides with several small pets that have very large personalities.

The following is an excerpt from my guide to the Elder Races universe, which will be posted soon on my website. This guide will provide background information on the world in which Dragon Bound is based, and I plan on adding a piece before the release of each book.

The hero in Dragon Bound is Dragos, Lord of the Wyr. Dragos is one of the immortal Wyr that came into being at the beginning world.

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A Compendium of Wyr

In essence, a Wyr is a creature that is two-natured and typically they have two forms, an animal form and a human form. They have the ability to shapeshift at will from one form to the other, and they are quite comfortable existing for long periods of time in either form.

Wyr mate for life. The longest known time for a Wyr to survive the loss of a mate is sixteen years, and that occurred under extraordinary circumstances. More deep than falling in love, the mating period is a dangerous, often violent time filled with volatile emotions and actions, bouts of extreme jealousy, and a heightened sexuality.

The mating period is not a season, but an individual experience that comes from a complex combination of choice, sex, instinct, actions and emotion. All have to occur at the right intensity and time. Nobody fully understands when the mating for a Wyr becomes irrevocable. The stakes are even higher when a Wyr mates with a non-Wyr. Those pairings can all too often end in tragedy for the Wyr, if the partner leaves or dies.

Since Wyr are much more than their animal natures, Wyr mating can pair in unusual ways. For example, a carnivore might pair with an herbivore. The offspring of an atypical mating such as this will have one dominant form, from either parent, not two. Half-Wyr might or might not have the strength to shapeshift. If they do, their animal form will be that of their Wyr parent.

Immortal Wyr— Either these strange, rare creatures came into existence as the Earth was formed or they came into existence soon after. The truth of that has been lost in time, for these creatures neither knew nor cared. They simply existed, until human societies grew to be so prevalent, the immortal Wyr became curious and learned to shapeshift to walk amongst humans. They are not true immortals, for they can be killed. However, they do not die of old age. This classification includes creatures such as dragons, gryphons, harpies, gargoyles, pegasi, and sea kraken.

Unique Wyr—Unlike the name suggests, Unique Wyr are not individual creatures but they are a classification of Wyr that do not appear in mundane species. For example, there are many types of mundane chameleons—more than 160 types of species in the world. However, there is not a mundane counterpart for the shy, rare rainbow chameleon Wyr that is native to an Other land in South America. Often Unique Wyr have specialized characteristics which can include atypical lifespans.

Natural Wyr—This classification covers all the other Wyr that have counterparts in mundane species. Wyr can be anything from gazelles to zebras, or from badgers to orangutans. The typical lifespan of a Natural Wyr is just over twice that of a human’s lifetime, around two hundred years, unless they mate with a Unique Wyr or some other race, such as a human, that has a shorter lifespan. In that case their life spans are as long as their mate’s.

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About the Book:

A Fiery Temper is Not Easily Extinguished

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful–and passionate—of the Elder Races.

As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in one another.

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:

One lucky commenter will have a chance to win a copy of Dragon Bound.

To enter, leave a comment below answering the following question:

What are your favorite shape shifter stories? What characteristics do you like the best?

1. +1 entry for answering the question (required).

2. +2 entries for becoming a follower of this blog and Dark Faerie Tales on Twitter.

First, I have seen this book everywhere and it makes me want it soooo much more! I can’t wait to read it.

I have to admit my favorite type of shifters are either wolf or cat. I love the stories that the shifters almost have another mind inside them that represents the animal (example is the Mercy Thompson series). Its a little weird but adds a who new dimension to the characters.

Kitsune are awesome shape shifters, and I love dragons too, of course. Good luck with the contest, and I hope everybody enjoys DRAGON BOUND. Stop by on Twitter and let me know!
Happy reading,
Thea Harrison

I love all shifter stories. I’ve only read a couple dragon shifters but loved them. Those guys are tough! It takes a real special kind of female to be with a dragon :). So not only do I love their strength but their loyalty. +1
Am an old follower here and Twitter. +2
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/Jovial_1/status/65784574348754944 +3

I can’t wait to get my hands on this book. Based on Twitter posts it HOT!

Werewolves are my favorite shifters. I like how feral and Alpha they are. They are very protective and possessive of their loved ones. They have a strong sense of family/pack. They usually mate for life also. I like Lauren Dane’s Cascadia Wolves series.

Congratulations on the new release Thea. Every review I’ve read has been stellar. I can’t wait to read it.

For shifters I have to say that I love the cats. Pass me a panther any day. Although I have also never had a dragon… so mmmm. I loved some of the things that you had to say in the interview. I cannot wait now to see what is in store for this book. Thank you for the giveaway also.

My favorite shape shifter stories are Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series and Keri Arthur’s Riley Jenson and Myth and Magic series. The characteristics I like the best is the ability to kick some serious ass, but still retain the ability to have friends and family and live a kind and loving life with loved ones.

Out of all the shifter books I have read I really like the dragons and pheonix ones. So different and unique. I love dragons because I was born in the year of the red dragon (yes I love saying that!). They are so majestic and powerful.

I love dragon anything, due to being a dragon sign… but for shifters I am open to them all. They all intrigue me in their own individual way, whatever I read at that moment. I really enjoy werewolves most, due to the popularization of them, there is much knowledge and detail in stories of them. The actual changing moment appeals most to me. The pain and wrath they go through to transform into a creature of strength and might. Takes my breath every time.

I just read not to long ago…Shadow of the Vampire by Meagen Hatfield and it was really good. I brought me over to the whole dragon shifting sexiness I also have read Deborah Cook’s Pyr series. I would love to read your book, please count me in.
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I love all kinds of shapeshifting stories, especially those involving dragons, cats, and the ability to change your human appearance. I love the Twelve Houses series by Sharon Shinn and the Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce. Dragons, however, are my favorite.
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I think my most favorite type of shape shifters tend to be anything that is a big cat. Love those. I love dragons too especially since there aren’t too many stories about them though there are more now than there used to be. +1

I like all sorts of shifters so I don’t know if I can pick just one. Still, I like the inner conflict of human versus animal natures. I like reading about the various shifter societies and their rules (if any). Also, we humans are social animals whereas some animals are not so it’s interesting to read how the author reconcile that.

I have to say that my fav shifters are the werewolves. Next up would be cat shifters then dragons. I love the protectiveness and loyalty to their mates. Thanks for the awesome contest! ten.labolgcbsnull@31146kcirtapb +1 comment, +2 follower.

I have to say my favorite shapeshifter stories are werewolves/werecats. They are very protective of their family, loved ones and mates and that to me is the amazing part of it. There are a lot of shifters that only protect themselves but for them to look out for others, I love that.

I love shapeshifter stories that show the biological and physiological implications of shape shifting. I get a tiny bit annoyed by those guys who from two to four leg and vise versa with nothing but a blink of the eye.

+1 Majority of all the shifters I have read have been wolf shifters with a panther hera and there. I am intrigued and would love to read a Dragon shifter. Can’t wait to read this, it sounds amazing. Thanks for the chance to win

+1 I haven’t read many shifter books, but my fave would have to be The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, where the main character (Tessa) can change form in crazy ways:)Shifters are cool because they’re often strong and brave.I like werewolves, too.
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